Nguyen Thien Nhan, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party’s Committee, hopes for further cooperation with the US Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management in promoting innovation and start-up spirit in the Vietnamese economic hub.

He had working session with leaders of the MIT Sloan School of Management in Boston on December 13 as part of the US visit by a HCM City delegation.

HCM City, as the largest economic hub in Vietnam, wants to collaborate with the US’s prestigious academic research and training institutes to carry out its important development plan in startup, smart urban area and economic competitiveness capacity improvement, Nhan noted.

On the occasion, the delegation visited MIT Sloan’s Media Lab where pioneer technologies are created.

Attending a forum on challenges in urban development in 21st century for HCM City at Harvard Kennedy School, Nhan shared the city’s smart urban area development plan with professors and experts from Harvard University, Trinity College and Fulbright Vietnam University.

He said that the plan aims at high and sustainable economic growth, good services in healthcare, education, and environment.

Professor David Dapice from the Harvard Kennedy School recommended that Ho Chi Minh City branch out high-added value services, believing that a smart city’s economic growth is expected to rely on those services.

Experts at the event agreed that Ho Chi Minh City has huge potential to turn into a smart city; however, workforce and public response and engagement are big challenges.

Meanwhile, Professor Stephen Goldsmith from Harvard Kennedy said a foundation for digital services is the key to smart city construction.

Earlier, Nhan had meeting with David Mandelbrot, CEO of Indiegogo- one of the two largest crowdfunding platforms in the US.